One fifth of Brits bullied at work

Ethnic minorities and disabled suffer most

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One fifth of British workers have been bullied at work during the last two years, the BBC reports.

Research by the the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) indicates the disabled are the most seriously affected, with 37 per cent claiming they'd been on the receiving end of unwelcome attention, while 29 per cent of black or Asian employees say they too have been bullied.

Just 18 per cent of non-disabled workers, meanwhile, claim they've been affected and an equal percentage of white pollees admitted to suffering bullying.

Unsurprisingly, many of those from ethnic minorities said racism was to blame. Fifteen per cent of Asian respondents fingered racism as the cause of the bullying, compared to just one per cent of white employees who considered it the root cause.

The findings of the poll of 2,000 workers - carried out online by MORI and Kingston business school - will be published by CIPD in anticipation of "Ban Bullying Day" on 7 November, promoted by the the Andrea Adams Trust.

Mike Emmott of CIPD told the BBC that employers need to take the issue of bullying more seriously. He said: "It can damage individuals' confidence, morale, motivation, and sometimes their health causing them to be less productive and effective at work.

"It can also trigger absenteeism, make retention rates go down and both the employer's reputation and bottom line can take a hit." ®